


A Bird Set Free

by InfiniteRabbits



Series: Magpie Moon [3]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Exploration, F/M, Other, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23554867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteRabbits/pseuds/InfiniteRabbits
Summary: (Complete, Sonic Fanfiction, Shadow x OC, Jet x OC Implied)When faced with the ideal that what she's doing just isn't going to be enough to keep up with the group of heroes around her, Clover the rabbit seeks out a way to strengthen her skills with less usage of her faulty powers. Presented with an opportunity from the Babylon Rogues, she sets out on a new adventure to earn her place with a new possible skill: Hoverboarding. Terrors await them as the Rogues search for their destiny in the Babylonian caverns.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Original Character(s)
Series: Magpie Moon [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721782
Kudos: 6





	1. Clipped Wings

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction's name is inspired by the song A Bird Set Free by Sia, and each of the chapter names are lyrics taken from this song.

The rabbit tumbled to the ground, rolling until her back hit the nearest tree. As hard and painful as it was, she thanked her lucky stars that they were in an area with soft grass and dirt instead of being in the city for their little sparring match. She gave a strange little wheeze and Shadow was quick to be at her side. 

“You alright?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she breathed out dramatically. “Getting kinda used to getting the shit kicked out of me. I’ve gotta be able to take a hit, after all.”

“We should probably stop for the day. I don’t want to  _ actually  _ hurt you.”

The hedgehog offered her his hand, which Clover happily took. Ever since the rabbit had found herself back in civilization again, Shadow had initiated training sessions with her about twice a week. At first, she’d wanted more. However once she realized how  _ incredibly out of shape _ she was, Clover agreed with his suggestion. It was difficult to adjust to having some semblance of a proper, healthy routine after being stuck doing grunt work in a castle for four years. 

Rouge had been helpful with her training, too. The bat continued to try and aid her with flight whenever the opportunity presented itself, as well as making a normal work-out routine for the other girl. Now Clover could see why Rouge’s lower half was built the way it was--from the waist down she was  _ entirely muscle. _ The bat could run for miles without needing to fly, could kick through  _ walls _ , and could launch herself high into the air with a single jump.

Usually rabbits themselves had a similar build, as most of their strength was in their lower half. Thankfully once Clover fell into the merciless routine Rouge laid out for her, she could feel her legs and abs growing stronger with each passing day. You know, after a full week of pain and torment.  _ Gotta feel the burn _ .  _ BOY  _ did it ever burn.

Clover was incredibly grateful to both of them. More than anything, she wanted to find a way to thank them both for all they’d done. Shadow was a shockingly patient teacher, while Rouge herself had not only helped with her physical abilities, but her housing as well. Rather than forcing her to get a new place as quickly as possible, the bat actually seemed to enjoy having her new friend around the fancy apartment. There was no rush or time limit put on things. The rabbit could take her time finding a place she actually liked and could try and work to save up some extra cash to throw at it.

“You okay over there?” Shadow’s voice rang out through her self-reflection. 

Clover jumped slightly, giving her head a shake as if to rattle all of her thoughts back into place.

“O-oh, yeah! Yeah I’m fine,” she replied with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I was spacing out there for a sec.”

“Penny for your thoughts?”

It took Clover a good, long moment to realize that their fingers were still linked. However rather than pulling hers away, she gave his hand a squeeze as she started their walk back to Rouge’s apartment. Might as well appreciate the touch while it was being given to her, after all!

“I guess I’m just a little worried,” the rabbit admitted. “I know it’s probably silly, but I worry that the next time something happens I wont be strong enough to keep up with you guys.”

She sighed and reached to run her fingers through her bubblegum-colored hair. It was hard to put her feelings into words.

“Like… I know if I use the whole ‘blood power’ thing as a trump card I’ll be pretty alright, but I also need to figure out how to pull my own weight  _ without  _ relying on that.”

“There’s nothing wrong with relying on your strengths,” Shadow pointed out. 

“Yeah but this isn’t a normal strength that I can just use at any time,” Clover counter-pointed. “You’re not always going to be around for me to drink from. What am I gonna do? Carry a knife around and drink from strangers?”

Shadow had to bite his own tongue on that one, though the look on his face was obvious. He would  _ kill  _ to see the small rabbit wielding a knife and jumping on her enemies to drink their blood. The look in his eye made Clover laugh and release his hand to give him a playful shove.

“Don’t even  _ think  _ about it,” she giggled out.

“Too late. You already put the image in my mind.”

As they reached the building, Shadow paused their conversation long enough for them to enter the elevator. This wasn’t usually something they discussed when too many others were around. Thankfully no one joined them. 

“You’re doing very well, though,” he said. “I know it may feel tough at first, but you’ve been working  _ very  _ hard. You want to go on your own adventures and be useful when the time comes that we need to fight again. I can assure you that you  _ will  _ be. It just takes time.”

“ _ It takes time _ , says Mr. Perfect,” Clover teased. “I suppose I should appreciate praise from the Ultimate Life Form, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes, you absolutely should.” 

As he spoke, Shadow puffed his chest in pride and crossed his arms. Whether she was teasing or not, it was still nice to hear someone use his title without actually doubting him. Usually others demanded he prove his worth, whereas Clover had accepted it without a second thought. It was refreshing to say the least. 

“ _ You know, _ ” Clover started, pulling her hands behind her own back. “It’s been a while since I’ve properly thanked you for everything you’ve been doing.”

“Oh?” he prodded, raising a brow in intrigue. 

“I think more coffee beans are in order,” she replied with a nod. “And maybe  _ lunch _ ?”

“Aww, cute,” the dark hedgehog chuckled out. “Are you asking me out on a  _ date _ ?”

Clover hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip. The fact that she didn’t quip back right away had Shadow more thrown off than he would have liked to admit. Was she actually--?

“ _ Maybe _ ?” She asked, leaning over to the side as she fidgeted nervously. “Like… if you want it to be?”

This didn’t compute in Shadow’s brain. All he could do was stare at her with wide-eyes as he tried desperately to think of some sort of answer. Was it better to play it cool? Did they need to talk about this more? Dating was something that had never really been on his radar before. Before he could come up with  _ any  _ response, the elevator pinged and the door opened. 

Feeling that this was the time to duck out, Clover hurriedly excused herself. She stayed facing away from him, waiting to see if he would say anything at all. However as the doors began to close, she quickly turned. 

“Friday at noon. Don’t be late!” 

That was all she could manage before the doors closed completely and the elevator made its way back down to the ground level with the very shocked Shadow still inside of it. He stayed there, completely frozen for the longest time. The hedgehog’s heart rate had increased considerably and he wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt so  _ warm _ . When he could finally manage to move again, he found himself immediately prodding at his communicator to send Rouge a message of:  **S.O.S. I NEED ADVICE** .

\---

The bat gave her friend some space as Clover arrived home. After training or working out, the rabbit always wanted to jump straight into the shower before anything else. The next step was always finding something to eat, so Rouge waited in the kitchen for her once she heard the shower turn off. Surprisingly enough, Clover didn’t leave the spare room. 

The slightly elder bat found the curiosity to be far too much for her to handle. So she slipped out of the kitchen and over to the door to give it a gentle knock. The answer she got was a groan from the other side. 

“You alright, hon?”

Cue another groan.

“Is it okay if I come in?”

“...Yeah.”

As Rouge opened the door her eyes fell upon her friend laying on her bed and looking absolutely drained. The bat sauntered over and sat herself down beside the other, then reached to brush Clover’s still wet hair out of her face.

“Alright doll-face,  _ spill it _ ,” Rouge said with a knowing smile.

Clover let out another dramatic groan. 

“I just kinda feel like shit today,” she admitted. “I don’t feel like I’m doing enough to train properly. I’m wondering how I’ll keep up with all of you if there’s another showdown at some point. Shadow tried to tell me I was doing fine, but I can’t get my brain to stop telling me that I’m not…  _ I asked Shadow out _ .”

Asking Shadow out Rouge expected, but the rest of this? Not so much. Her brows knit together in concern. All of Clover’s words were coming out so quickly, and the more she spoke the more she seemed bothered by everything. Rouge shushed her gently, putting a finger to the other’s lips. 

“Slow down, hon. Let’s take it all one thing at a time,” said the bat. “You are doing a heck of a lot of training. Honestly, any more and I’d tell you to  _ slow down _ . You’re training with me daily, you’re sparring with Shadow multiple times a week, there’s not really much more you can do. Just because you’re starting later than us doesn’t mean you won't be able to catch up.”

“I guess,” Clover sighed. “But there’s one big problem with all of this.”

“What’s that?”

“My powers are limited and temporary. I need to be able to work just as strongly without them as I can with them,” the rabbit said as she rolled onto her back. “No matter how much I workout my legs, I’ll never be able to run as fast as Sonic or Shadow. Maybe I’ll be able to kick as hard as you will, but you can fly without needing to suck someone’s blood first. Tails has the Tornado, so he doesn’t have to worry about it.”

“So you’re worried about  _ literally  _ keeping up?” Rouge asked, tilting her head to the side. 

The younger one nodded. 

Clover  _ did  _ admittedly have a point there. Everyone tended to have their own form of transport that got them where they needed to go quickly, or they tended to work together. 

“That  _ is  _ a bit of a pickle,” the bat continued. “But until you figure out your own way, there’s lots of things we can do to help you out.”

“I just don’t want you to have to carry me forever,” Clover admitted. 

“And why  _ not _ ?” Rouge pretended to pout. “ _ Don’t want me holding you anymore? _ ”

The rabbit laughed and reached for her pillow to swat her. 

“Be serious!”

“Speaking of  _ serious _ ,” the bat smirked down at Clover. “ _ You asking out Shadow _ ?”

“ _ Oh God… _ ”

Giving a noise of unhappiness, Clover pulled the pillow over her own face. 

“Can you just… smother me?  _ Please _ ? Wipe me from history for even  _ thinking  _ it was okay to do that.”

Rouge let out a laugh that was far louder than she meant it to be. Taking a moment to get herself under control, she reached over to try and pull the pillow away from Clover’s face. 

“Honey, you didn’t do anything wrong,” she said as she scooted closer. “He’s into it. He’s just….  _ Awkward _ . I’m talkin’ really,  _ really  _ awkward. But what worries me isn’t Shadow. It’s  _ you _ . Are you sure you’re ready to jump into another relationship after--”

Rather than saying Dr. Lazarus’s name out loud, the bat made a motion with her fingers as though they were fangs. Clover paused, taking a moment to really mull things over before she spoke up again.

“I mean, if it doesn’t work then it doesn’t work. It’s not like I’ll lose Shadow as a friend if neither of us is ready for things like dates or whatever, right?”

“That’s true,” Rouge agreed.

“I guess I kinda figured that if after at least a month had passed and the interest was still there, I’d give it a shot,” Clover admitted. “I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t like I was rebounding on him, or just crushing on him because it was some kind of ‘hero worship’ from being saved. I still get those stupid butterflies when I’m around him. So I guess I figured I’d ask.”

“That’s a pretty fair point.” 

Rouge smiled as she flopped down beside Clover on the bed. If anything, she was proud of her friend for not looking at another relationship as the way to fix her past problems. It reminded her very much of their talks in the temple they’d made their way through together while trying to get a hold of the Bloodstone. 

“So long as you don’t rush into things, I’m sure it will be fine,” the bat concluded. 

“Yeah…”

There was a long pause before Clover looked over to Rouge with the sudden realization that  _ Shadow had apparently told her _ about what had been said in the elevator. 

“ _ Did you say he was into it? _ ”

With another loud laugh, Rouge took the pillow and playfully shoved it back down onto Clover’s face.


	2. Shout It Out

Clover bobbed her head to the music in her headphones as she made her way through the marketplace. While the city itself had many places to shop, she found that she prefered going to the outskirts. She loved that she could actually see the sky above her instead of claustrophobic concrete and metal, and the stalls held a certain quirky charm that couldn’t be found anywhere else. Their wares and services constantly changed, offering anything from antiques to odd-jobs--browsing the alleys and aisles was something of a roulette.

For the most part it seemed like a quiet day. The sun was shining, everyone was happy, and life was good for the merchants. Normally the area was filled with the sound of soft music and the chitter chatter of others making their deals, but at the moment all she could hear was her own tunes. Everything smelled like incense, and soil from the dirt road, with the slightest hint of tobacco and old books. Honestly, she loved it!

There was such a sense of adventure here, and it had the rabbit itching to go on another of her own. The exploration in the cave with Rouge had awakened something inside of her that she hadn’t realized had been trying so desperately to claw its way out. Clover couldn’t help but jitter her leg as she stopped to look over a trinket at a booth. 

The rabbit wanted to find a gift for Rouge to thank her for her kindness, but nothing really felt like it was  _ expensive  _ looking enough. Now she honestly regretted selling most of the things from Lazarus’s castle. If the bat could have, she would have kept every shiny piece of jewelry. 

A sudden wave in front of her face pulled Clover from her thoughts. In that moment, she realized the badger behind the booth was trying to speak to her. She apologized softly as she reached to pull her headphones out of her ears, holding onto the long cord. 

“Sorry about that,” she said with a sheepish smile. “I couldn’t hear you. What did you--”

Before she could finish her sentence, a huge gust of wind nearly blew her over. Her hair whipped into her eyes and as Clover turned to try and see just what it was, the world suddenly felt as though it was going in slow-motion. Sunlight caught the side of the green hoverboard and the bird on top of it made it look as though gliding through the air was the easiest thing in the world. The hawk looked so free as he and his comrades so easily and gracefully moved alongside each other. 

\--And then everything snapped back to normal and the Rabbit was left standing there with her mouth gaping open. 

“Miss?” the badger repeated, waving at her once more. 

Rather than replying, Clover took off after the three birds in an attempt to find wherever they’d just landed in the marketplace. Little did she know she’d dropped her headphones, which had tangled into the booth’s items and pulled themselves free from her as she left. 

After some quick searching, her eyes finally fell upon the three she’d seen standing at another stall. Rather than goods, they seemed to be getting themselves something to eat. She crept up to them, unsure of how to start the conversation.

_ I like your board. _

_ Your boards are so awesome! _

_ How did you get a hold of one of these? _

Nothing seemed right. The closer she got, the more enamoured she became with the pieces of machinery themselves. This was perfect! Her worries of being able to keep up with her friends would be completely demolished if she could only get her hands on one of these amazing things. The hawk, swallow, and albatross were completely forgotten as she leaned in to look at the details on the closest hoverboard. 

“U-uhm…  _ Miss _ ?” came a voice behind her.

Rather than just getting Clover’s attention, the three birds turned as well. Well now she just felt awkward. The badger from the booth reached out, having chased after her to return her headphones to her.

“You left these behind.”

“Th-thanks,” she said as she took them back. “I appreciate it.”

“You should be more careful.”

“Yeah, I will. Thanks.”

He offered her a kind smile and turned to head back to his stall, and as Clover turned to face the others again, she found that they were already walking away. 

“Hey! Wait up!”

The rabbit chased after them, only to have Wave turn to glare at her. 

“What do  _ you  _ want?” the swallow groused. 

“I just… wanted to know where you guys got those sweet boards,” Clover started in nervousness. 

Well, there was no avoiding it now.

“ _ I _ made them,” Wave replied proudly.

Clover stared at her in amazement. She  _ made  _ them? The rabbit supposed she’d never really get used to knowing people who could build such brilliant technology. 

“Is there any way I could... You know, maybe, kinda, sorta… Pay you to make one for me?” She asked, fiddling with her headphones. 

“Look, lady, you can’t just  _ buy  _ these,” Jet said with an arrogant huff.

“Why not?” Storm wondered, earning a glare from both of his teammates. 

“You have to  _ earn  _ it,” Jet replied, giving Storm’s chest a little swat. 

“But I--”

Clover was cut off as Wave got far too close for comfort, nearly pressing their foreheads together as she gave the rabbit her most intimidating glare. 

“Listen, lady: Keep your hands off the merchandise and  _ scram _ .”

With that, the three turned and headed for a table to eat their lunches. Clover hesitated, still gripping the cord of her headphones tightly. Either she could walk away and forget about it, or she could try one more time. What was the worst that could happen? Summoning up her bravery, she made her way over to them. 

The Rogues had busied themselves pulling out a small, distressed map that was drawn on some kind of parchment paper. It had faded over the years and nearly looked like it was falling apart. 

“I can’t tell which one of these is actually the entrance,” Wave admitted as she ran her finger over one of the trails. “It looks like there’s a ton of different tunnels and this thing isn’t showing us what’s on what level.”

“We’ve gotta get in there,” Jet protested. “We can’t just give up because we don’t know which one’s the front door.”

“Why do we need this again?” Storm asked, his mouth still full of food. As he spoke, crumbs escaped his beak and landed on the map. 

Clover’s ears perked up as she listened in on their conversation. Jet let out an angry squawk as he reached to wipe the food off of the parchment as gently as possible.

“ _ Watch it _ , bird-brain! This thing’ll fall apart if you treat it like that,” the hawk grumbled. 

“Jet,” Wave said with a sigh. “As much as we want to get to this information, this cavern looks bigger than the caves we’ve been to in the past. Treasure hunting is one thing, but this is a  _ maze _ .”

“The _ Babylon Archives _ are the only chance we have left to find out about our people,” the hawk said firmly. “We don’t even know if this place is still fully standing, but it’s worth it if we even get a little bit more information. This is our  _ destiny _ , Wave!”

This was it! This was her chance. Clover cleared her throat as she stepped forward.

“Well friends, I might be able to help you out there,” she said as she sat themselves at their table without asking. 

“ _ I thought I told you to get lost _ ,” Wave hissed out. 

“Just hear me out,” said the rabbit as she held her hands up. “I grew up underground. Now I’m no big-time explorer, but I  _ can  _ navigate my way through tunnels. Lemme see this.”

Clover was careful to keep her hands to herself as she leaned over the table to peer at the map. 

“It doesn’t really matter  _ which  _ entrance you use, because it looks like the thing you’re looking for is directly in the center of the cavern. Which direction is North?”

Wave raised a brow, but pointed with her thumb. 

Being as gentle as she could, the rabbit turned the map to let the markers in the top corner match the directions. There seemed to be about 5 entrances, but rather than picking the one that would be closest, she pointed to the one that would be farthest away.

“You want to enter through  _ this  _ one.”

“Don’t we want to take  _ this  _ one, though?” Jet asked, pointing to another. “We can get there in a day. The other one will take more time to get to because we have to cross a mountain range.”

“Yes, but look  _ here _ ,” Clover replied as she pointed to a particular spot on the map. “The closer entrance is next to a river. Most of them have been rubbed off by now, but if you look really closely, you’ll see circular marks beside it. Those marks look like a village to me. Where there’s more life, there will be more boobytraps. The other side will probably be better hidden, so there’s less of a chance to run into as much trouble from the start.”

There would  _ definitely  _ be more deeper inside, of course, but there was no point in starting on hard mode.

“As much as I hate to admit it, she  _ does  _ have a point,” said the swallow.

“Is she coming with us?” Storm asked.

“...What do you get out of it?” Jet grumbled, folding his arms as he looked over the rabbit. 

“I help you guys in and out, and you guys hook me up with one of these sweet hoverboards.” The rabbit held her hand out to whom she assumed was the leader of the gang. “Deal?”

“We’ve gone on a  _ ton  _ of treasure hunts without help, why should we need any now?”

Wave sighed and reached to roll the map up. She still had a bad feeling about this whole thing. The swallow would follow Jet to the ends of the earth and back, but at this point finding out more about the Babylonians seemed like it would do more harm than good. If there was nothing she could do to talk him out of it, then she supposed having someone who could get them to their destination with less time wasted was probably worth the investment.

“How quickly can you get us through?” she asked, much to Jet’s dismay.

“Depends on how big the place is,” Clover admitted. “If it’s as large as that map makes it look, without my help you guys would be stuck in there for at minimum a week. If we’re moving quick, I can probably get you in and out in a day. Maybe a day and a half.”

With the use of the hoverboards she was sure it might even be less time, but there was no point in making a promise she couldn’t keep. Wave looked to Jet for his approval. Ultimately the decision was his, but the tech wiz was sure it was a better idea than going in blind. Professional explorer or not, Clover’s body was literally built to live in tunnels. 

Jet let out a frustrated garble akin to an angry motorcycle before he finally conceded defeat. 

“ _ Fine _ !” He spat out, throwing his arms up in the air. “You can help us.”

“Great!” Clover said with a little bounce. “ _ When do we leave? _ ”


	3. For Love, For Me

Rouge was absolutely nowhere in sight. Clover, excited for her new adventure, had gone home to pack some essentials in her trusty hiking backpack and to let her roommate know where she was going. Rather than hailing her on the com-system, the rabbit opted for leaving a note which read:

_ Rouge, _

_ Got a lead on something that might help me with what we were talking about yesterday. I’m going treasure-hunting with a group that needs my help in exchange for some goods. I’ve got my communicator with me and I’ll keep you updated when I can. _

_ I’ll be back before Friday. _

_ Don’t party too hard without me! _

_ -Clover _

Using one of the little diamond magnets Rouge had, Clover stuck the note to the fridge and ran out onto the balcony rather than heading out of the building’s normal exit.

“Up here, guys!” 

As she called out to them, the Rogues ascended to meet her. Jet gave out a long whistle as he looked through the sliding door. 

“Fancy digs. You  _ must  _ have some extra cash to burn,” he noted.

“Nah,” Clover said with a nervous smile. “It’s not my place. I’m just staying with someone for a while.  _ Anyway _ , who am I riding with?”

“I don’t think there’s enough room on my board,” Storm admitted. 

He was a big, beefy guy. Even he recognized that if he made the wrong move, the rabbit would go flying and they’d probably lose their guide. 

“Go on, Jet,” Wave said, motioning to her leader.

“You’re kidding, right?” he squawked, his feathers ruffling up in anger. “This was  _ your  _ idea.”

“Yes, but  _ you’re  _ the best flier,” the swallow crooned. “Plus you always lead the way. How’s she supposed to  _ guide  _ us if she isn’t in front?”

Stroking his ego was always the quickest way to get Jet to bend to her will. It was a trick Wave had learned long ago. In the past, she used to try and fight his plans when she assumed they wouldn’t work. Now all she had to do was act as though  _ he’d  _ been the one to think of it. It was manipulative as heck, but it got the job done. 

The green bird let out another little grumble as he mulled it over. The sounds he made were enough to make Clover internally cringe. She’d never really been around many other birds before. Were they all this  _ vocal _ ? Glancing at the others, she concluded that maybe this was just a  _ Jet  _ thing.

“ _ Yeah, alright _ ,” he finally said. 

He maneuvered the board with ease, rising over the railing and sliding beside the rabbit. 

“Get on.”

Clover gave a happy noise of her own, doing a little dance-in-place. With confidence, she stepped up onto the board--and in an instant that confidence was gone. With just one foot, she could feel the hoverboard shift with her weight, and with the other she found herself flapping around to try and keep her balance. The rabbit’s arms flew around Jet’s waist to keep from falling, jumping as he let out a loud squawk of his own. 

“N-not that  _ tight _ !,” he protested as he tried to undo her iron grip. “ _ I can’t breathe! _ ”

Wave’s eyes went wide as she watched the situation go down; a strange expression plastered across her face as she held in every ounce of laughter. The swallow cleared her throat and tried to move herself next to the two of them without getting hit by Jet’s elbow.

“Loosen your grip a bit,” she instructed.

As she spoke, Wave’s voice cracked from the held-in amusement. Carefully she reached forward to grasp Clover’s hands and move them back to simply rest on Jet’s waist. 

“There. You can hold on  _ there  _ as tight as you want,” the swallow instructed. “He has to move his upper half to maneuver the board, and if you cling to him like you were before, you’re both going down in flames.”

“Heh, sorry,” Clover laughed out. 

It was a bit terrifying to know that all she could do was more or less rest her hands on his hips. Especially considering how  _ tiny  _ his hips were. This guy was like a stick!

“Whenever I lean, make sure you’re leanin’ with me,” Jet said over his shoulder. “It’s how we turn. If you stay stiff, the board won’t move right either.”

“Got it.”

“You ready?”

Clover tried her best to smile. Truthfully?  _ No _ , she wasn’t ready. However there was no turning back now.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied, the confidence in her voice faltering. 

The only reply she got was a nod. With an easy kick-back of his leg, Jet’s hoverboard angled up and the rabbit felt them plummeting down from the high floor of the building towards the ground. A loud squeak managed it’s way out of her throat before she clamped her lips shut to try and contain the scream trying to rip out of her. This only half-worked and made the rabbit sound like she was giving out a long, high-pitched whine. 

Apparently Jet found her terror  _ hilarious _ . With a loud, obnoxious laugh, Clover felt the board twist this way and that to pull off maneuvers so crazy that she couldn’t even comprehend how her body was moving. The entire world was spinning around them as the rabbit tried her best to move her body the same way Jet was. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn he was actively trying to _ throw her off _ . 

“Would you stop show-boating?!” she heard Wave shout over the wind. “You’re gonna make her sick, and I am  _ not  _ cleaning that up!”

Jet let out another loud grumble as he slowed his board and evened out his flying. 

“ _ Spoil sport _ .”

Now that things felt relatively flat again, Clover slumped and felt her head flop forward to rest against the back of the hawk’s shoulder. Jet might have stopped the spinning, but the world didn’t feel like it had stopped just yet. She was quite a bit more dizzy than she wanted to admit to.

“What’s the matter,  _ Princess _ ?” the hawk crowed. “Can’t take my flying lessons? You sure you actually  _ want  _ a board?”

“Wait, she’s a  _ Princess _ ?” Storm suddenly asked. “Jet, you can’t treat royalty so roughly! What’s the  _ King  _ gonna think?”

“Knock it off, would ya, Storm?” Jet grumbled back. 

“ _ Yes _ , I still want a board,” Clover gasped out once she could find her voice again. “I‘ve got my reasons, okay? That’s like asking why you’re looking for whatever’s in this darn cave.”

“Well that’s easy,” the hawk replied. “To find our  _ Destiny _ !”

Brows knitting together, Clover looked to Wave as if asking: Is he  _ serious _ ? Wave rolled her eyes and nodded in response. As much as the swallow respected their leader and usually agreed with him, his communication skills were severely lacking.


	4. Struggle to Fly

By the time the group reached the entrance to the cave, Clover felt far more grumpy than she would have liked. They’d flown nearly overnight with no breaks, and the three birds seemed completely unphased. Perhaps it was the excitement of knowing they were so close to their goal, or perhaps it was just sheer determination to finish their mission. The rabbit on the other hand felt drained from holding on and getting used to moving her body with the wind and the bird in front of her. The caffeine from the previous morning had long since worn off and she desperately needed something in her system. 

The instant her feet were back on the ground, she was digging through her bag to pull out a small bag of coffee beans. Eating them straight was more Shadow’s thing than hers, but at that point her need for caffeine was so great that she found herself crunching down on them without an ounce of hesitation. 

“Are you… Are you eating those  _ straight _ ?” Wave asked. 

Clover shrugged off her question, shoving another handful into her mouth before she put them away. The beans had been her first priority.  _ Now  _ she could focus. Ignoring the strange looks the Rogues were giving her, the rabbit took in each little detail of the maw of the cavern before her. 

Nothing about it looked all that special. Had it not been for the map, Clover would have assumed they were in the wrong place entirely. As she stood at the threshold, her ears perked straight up, angling this way and that to try and listen for any signs of life or movement. There was a soft, steady drip of water and the quiet scurrying of some sort of cave-rodent, but not much else to speak of. Unfortunately she didn’t get to finish her inspection before Jet decided it was time to just barrel inside.

“ _ What are you waiting for?! _ ”

“Wait!” Clover called. “Don’t--”

The hawk’s impatience in his quest for knowledge was his downfall. As he turned to look back at the Rabbit, sarcastic quip at the ready, he stepped directly on a tiny trigger in the ground. A boom that was loud to the birds and  _ painful  _ for Clover’s sensitive ears sounded off above their head.  _ There were explosives embedded in the rocks _ . 

The rabbit felt dazed from the sound and stood there trying to rub the pain out of her ears. Storm grasped her hand and yanked her inside while Wave ran past them. Something whacked into Clover’s arm and sent an aching shockwave straight up to her elbow. It took them time to get their bearings back once all of the rumbling stopped and the dust settled around them. 

“Everyone alive?” Jet cawed out. 

“I’m still here,” Wave sighed. “ _ Unfortunately _ .”

If she hadn’t been worried about this mission before, she sure was now. However this only made her all the more grateful that she’d managed to convince Jet to take the rabbit along with them. Though she knew they could eventually find their own way out, they would probably be half-dead by the time they hit the light of day again. With their guide, Wave was sure they’d be out in no time. 

You know, if Clover was even still alive. 

“Guys?” Wave called. “You there? I can’t see a damn thing.”

“I’ve got the Princess!” Storm called back. “I think she’s hurt.”

“Nah, ‘m fine,” Clover muttered as she rubbed her sore arm. “Just a bruise, probably. Nothing to worry about.”

Save for the fact that she couldn’t feel her communicator on her wrist anymore.  _ That  _ was a problem. More than anything, she was worried about not being able to tell anyone where she was. The easiest way out of tunnel systems was to follow what was familiar. Now she’d have to find one of the other four entrances and hope that they hadn’t been closed off as well.

While her communicator was gone, she  _ did  _ still have her backpack. Thankfully Clover had been prepared for the dark. Pulling out a large flashlight, Clover turned it on and handed it over to the oversized albatross. 

“Here. We can use this to make sure no one sets off any more boobytraps,” the rabbit growled. 

“H-Hey, don’t look at me!” Jet screeched. 

“Am I the  _ only one _ that brought supplies?” Clover asked.

“We’re always in and out so quickly that we don’t tend to need much,” Wave admitted. “We’ve got our extreme gear and our tech.”

“So no food,” the rabbit sighed. “I’ve got a little with me, but we’re gonna have to make it last.”

“I thought you said you could get us in and out of here in a day!”

Clover winced at the mere sound of Jet’s high-pitched voice. It was bad enough when he was just making his little grumbling noises. When he was outright yelling it sounded like a banshee scream. 

“I would have if you hadn’t--!”

“Uh… guys?” Storm called. “You should come take a look at this.”

In their arguing, they hadn’t noticed that their source of light had slowly been growing further and further away. They could see Storm ahead of them, beckoning them closer. What they weren’t expecting was the sheer size of the drop in front of him. The tunnel opened up into a massive open cavern that Clover couldn’t even see the other side of. 

“You all still have your gear, right?” the rabbit asked.

Thankfully the answers were positive across the board. Storm himself was still marveling as the inky blackness before them, shining the flashlight this way and that. 

“Wow, I can’t even see the bottom,” he said in amusement. “Are we goin’ in there?”

“There’s not really anywhere else  _ to  _ go,” Jet grumbled as he jumped onto his board. “Come on,  _ Princess _ . You’re  _ supposed  _ to be leading the way.”

Geeze, this guy was a  _ dick _ ! With a sigh of annoyance Clover found herself right back on the hoverboard behind him. Down the group went, descending into the darkness while Storm tried to keep the light focused for them. 

“Make sure you go slow,” Clover chided. “We can’t see enough to speed around in here.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be able to hear everything around you?” the hawk squawked. 

“I’m not a  _ bat _ , you moron. My ears are good but they aren’t  _ that  _ good.”

“Well how  _ deep  _ is this thing?!”

“I don’t know. I can’t hear it over your  _ incessant shrieking _ !”

As the two continued to bicker, Wave found herself rubbing her temples. She suddenly felt like a mother trying to reign in their fighting two-year-olds. 

“Children, children!” the swallow shouted. “Knock it off, would ya? You’re giving me a headache over here.”

“Gee, sorry  _ mom _ ,” Jet spat. 

“Serious? She’s got a point, dude,” Clover scolded as she gave Jet a swat. “You need to zip it.”

“Me?! You’re the one that started it!”

_ And there they went again _ . Wave moaned unhappily as she held her head. This was going to be one  _ long  _ adventure.


	5. Eat Us Alive

None of them really knew what to expect when they first arrived at the cavern. Clover figured it would be big, but not  _ that  _ big. Even once they’d found the bottom of the drop-off and the rabbit began to lead them down one of the many, many tunnels, walking was taking  _ hours _ . As much as Jet wanted them all to fly, Clover needed to be on the ground to properly feel her way around and listen to the surrounding earth. 

Not being able to tell the passage of time made it harder to gauge just how far they were really traveling. A rest was in order, and the group took turns in teams of two taking a nap while Clover shared some of her food with them. 

_ And then there was more walking. _

Jet once more began to let out his angry grumbles as he watched Clover do what she’d been doing for most of the journey: tapping around with her foot and listening for whatever sounds she was hearing with those giant ears of hers. There was so much  _ twisting, winding, turning, climbing up, crossing deeper chasms, climbing down _ , it was all starting to drive him mad!

“Are you sure you even know where you’re going?” he squawked. 

“So long as I  _ focus _ , I can remember which direction is what,” Clover sighed out. 

“Do you know how much longer it’ll take, Princess?” Storm asked, still not having let go of Jet’s stupid nickname yet. 

“No, not really,” the rabbit admitted. “I thought this place was a lot smaller from the map you showed me. I was going off of the size of the river and the village, but this is apparently way bigger than I anticipated. I don’t know when we’ll get there.”

“So we  _ are  _ lost!” Jet huffed. “Great!  _ Juuuust _ great. What was the point of you being here again?”

Clover glared at him, not in the mood for an argument right now. 

“We aren’t  _ lost _ . It’s just taking a while,” Wave groaned as she gave Jet’s shoulder a push.

“Well it wouldn’t be taking so long if we just used our gear!”

“Would you pipe down, already?” Clover growled. “I need to be able to  _ hear  _ to tell where we’re going. Remember?”

“I don’t think you actually know what you’re doing,” Jet continued. 

And thus began the hawk’s tirade, much to the chagrin of both females. Clover went to interrupt only to pause, one ear swiveling like a furry radar dish to catch the faintest hint of  _ something  _ further down the corridor. It was strangely high-pitched like the squeal of a pig, but…  _ wrong _ . Both of her ears angled all the way forward, but try as she might she couldn’t seem to drown out the squawking of the bird. 

“J-Jet,” she squeaked out, her leg starting to jitter in place. 

“I can’t believe you got us into this stupid--”

“ _ Jet _ .  _ Shh _ .”

“Don’t you shush me! I oughta--”

“ _ JET! _ ” Wave interrupted, pointing down to Clover’s leg.

The rabbit was outright thumping her foot* down against the cave floor. The rest of her body seemed frozen in place and her eyes were wider than the Rogues had ever seen, but that single leg just wouldn’t stop bouncing.

“Wh-what  _ is  _ that?” Jet asked, taking a step back. “ _ What’s she doing _ ?”

Now that they were quieter, even Wave could hear the disturbing noises coming their way. Shrieks and screams bounced against the walls of the cavern and scrambling noises like claws against stone all but surrounded them. Storm stepped forward slowly, reaching a hand out to touch Clover’s shoulder, only to jump backwards when the rabbit suddenly snapped her head in his direction.

“ _ Run! _ ”

“A-are we running forward or backwards?” Storm asked too late.

Something pale dashed past their light and barreled into the largest bird. The flashlight rolled out of his hand to land just beside his head, showing off a surprisingly large creature on top of him. The lack of proper lighting in the area made it difficult for the others to see just what it was, but its body looked mangled somehow, and its head almost looked as though it were missing a chunk. 

Storm gave his own set of terrified shrieks as he fought with the beast, hardly hearing his friends calling out for him. Wave took her hoverboard and swung it as hard as she could. The harsh impact stunned the creature long enough for Storm to throw it off of himself. As it hit the wall beside him, a sickening  _ crack  _ rang out through the air. It was a noise Storm wanted to pretend he hadn’t heard. Acknowledging it meant acknowledging that he might have just  _ killed  _ something. 

“You okay?” the swallow asked as she knelt by his side.

“Yeah,” Storm groaned. “But…”

The pink hoverboard was completely wrecked. The dent in it was so large that it had impacted the thrusters. There was no way she’d be able to fly it like that. This was the least of their worries, however. As Wave tried her best to tell her friend that it was alright and he was more important to her than the board, Clover’s thumping allerted them to more danger on the way. As the two turned their gaze forward, they could see a mass of moving white shapes.

“Stop talking! Go! Go!” Jet shouted as he jumped onto his own board. 

Storm pulled Wave up into his arms as he lumbered forward to grab his own board. If she was going to sacrifice her gear to save his life, then he was going to do everything in his power to protect her. The swallow held on tightly as they left the ground behind, and she watched Jet barrel forward to pluck Clover from the spot she seemed to be frozen in. 

“Keep moving forward!” the hawk crowed. 

Their position on the board was awkward at best. Rather than being behind Jet, Clover found herself in front of him and her legs between his own in an effort to keep them out of his way. Their bodies were pressed flush against each other and the rabbit could feel one of his arms tight around her waist while he used the other to balance as they zipped through the tunnel systems. Her own arms fell around his shoulders as she strained to see the others following close behind them. 

For once the rabbit didn’t find herself complaining about the strange grumbling Jet was making as he tried his best to focus on picking which tunnels seemed best. He was working with such minimal light that making the noise was the only thing keeping him focused. The sound was  _ far better _ than those coming from the creatures. Clover wasn’t sure how, but the cave-dwellers were managing to keep up with the bird’s gear. The sheer speed in which they could clamber against the ceiling of the cave was absolutely terrifying.

Wave shouted at the pair, but her warning came far too late. Clover caught sight of the beast that launched itself at the two of them. It would have missed  _ had it not had wings _ . The fleshy appendages seemed to sprout out of nowhere, and with a single hard flap its body crashed against them. Ragged claws scraped against Jet’s leg, and the world began to twirl as the board spun out. Down they fell into one of the trenches, smashing against a wall before they continued their descent into the abyss. 

Wave could barely see the creature get knocked off of them before they disappeared from sight completely. She screamed out their leader’s name as she tried to squirm enough to reach for him. With a grimace, Storm tightened his grip on his friend and kept moving forward. If they stopped, their fate would surely be the same. He had to keep moving forward, like Jet said. If he kept going, there was still a chance that he could at the very least save Wave from being eaten alive.

“ _ Where are you going? _ Storm!  _ Turn around! _ Jet!  **_JET_ ** !”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Rabbits thumping is a sign to other rabbits of danger in the area. In this canon, this habit is taught to all Warren rabbits in case of invaders or any other kinds of dangers that may be approaching. Clover does this out of habit when in an area that feels like a Warren, or jitters her leg in general when she feels nervous.


	6. A Scream Inside

Rouge’s morning started like any other. She awoke at the crack of dawn to go out on her morning jog, came home, and had her breakfast while she caught up on communications. Clover was due home any time now, according to her note, and the bat was eager to see her friend again. 

Every now and again she would glance at the clock. Try as she might to be patient, Rouge found herself with a strange worried feeling nagging in the back of her mind. Telling herself that she was just being silly, the bat tried to distract herself with a hot shower and some TV. The passage of time only made the horrible feeling that something was wrong even worse. 

It  _ was  _ Friday, wasn’t it? She checked the calendar and her communicator just to be on the safe side. Rouge hadn’t gotten her dates wrong. Didn’t Clover have a  _ date  _ with Shadow at noon? The bat chewed on her bottom lip in anxiousness as she glanced to the clock once more. It was nearly eleven. Surely she wouldn’t be cutting it  _ that  _ close, would she?

“Maybe I’d better call her,” Rouge muttered to herself. 

Try as she might to hail the rabbit over her com, Clover didn’t pick up. The bat attempted once, twice, three times before she sighed and flopped onto the couch. 

“Maybe she’s just busy. Yeah… I’m sure she’ll be home any minute now.”

Each second felt like an eternity as Rouge stared at the clock. Clover  _ had  _ to be home soon. There was nothing wrong. She  _ had  _ to be alright. Maybe she was stuck in traffic, or somewhere too loud to be able to hear her com’s little chimes, or  _ laying somewhere hurt and alone _ …

The bat sat up quickly and tried to call her friend yet again, but to no avail. 

“You’re just being silly, Rouge,” she laughed out. “Maybe  _ your  _ com is broken. Yeah, that’s gotta be it. Maybe if I--”

Rather than trying to call Clover, Rouge attempted to hail Omega. To her dismay, he picked up right away. 

“Omega here.”

“O-Oh, uh... Omega.”

Rouge could feel her stomach dropping and a cold feeling stewing inside of her.

“Yes, this is Omega. What is the primary function of your call?”

“Yes, well… Listen, sweetie,” Rouge started, trying her best to sound normal. “I think there might be an issue with my communicator. I can’t seem to get a hold of Clover. Can you run a diagnostic for me?”

“Affirmative,” came the robotic voice on the other line. “Running… Running… Diagnostic complete. Communicator is within full functioning order.”

“ _ I was afraid of that _ ,” Rouge admitted. “Could you try and call Clover for me?”

“Hailing… Hailing… Hailing… Call attempted three times. No answer.”

“Run a diagnostic?”

Rouge clamped her hands together, pressing them against her forehead as she hoped, prayed, and  _ wished  _ with all of her might that things were okay. She wanted Clover’s com to be working. She wanted Clover to be safely on her way back home. 

“Running… Running…  _ Error… _ ”

To think that a single word could so easily make her feel sick. Rouge had to grip the side of the counter to keep herself steady. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Clover. The bird had to leave the nest sooner or later, and if she wanted to be an adventurer then surely she had to be allowed to explore. Even still, the bat’s “big sister” senses were going off like mad and all she wanted to do was go out and find the other girl.

“What kind of error, Omega?”

“ _ Error _ …  _ Communicator link severed _ as of O’Eight-hundred thirty-seven hours, twenty-seven hours and twenty-three minutes ago.”

Rouge’s dread was far too much to bear. It felt like a heavy weight pushing down on her chest and making it harder and harder for her to breathe. 

“Omega, hold.”

“Holding.”

The bat desperately needed a moment to think. She ran to the fridge and read the note left for her over and over again as if hoping that if she just peered over the words  _ one  _ more time that they would magically reveal just where Clover had gone. 

A knock at the door suddenly had the bat’s hopes rising. As she scrambled towards the door, Rouge told herself that Clover somehow lost her copy of the key. That had to be it! She was finally home!

“Clover!” She shouted as she flung the door open.

No. No, Clover wasn’t there.

_ It was Shadow. _

The hedgehog was startled by the sudden outburst, taking a step backwards the instant the door flew open before his eyes. The look of panic in Rouge’s eyes was enough to make him push his way inside and pull the bat along with him. 

“ _ Where is she? _ ” 

“I-I don’t know,” Rouge admitted, reaching to rub her own temples. 

The bat had never been this attached to someone who didn’t already know how to take care of themselves before. In that moment she worried about if she’d taught Clover enough to set her up for success or if the rabbit was seriously hurt somewhere in need of saving. 

“She left me a note saying that she was going treasure hunting with a team in exchange for ‘goods,’ whatever that means. She said she’d be back by now.”

Though he looked calm on the outside, Rouge could see the unease in Shadow’s eyes. What worried him less was Clover’s physical health. His worries were on whatever  _ team  _ she’d decided to trust. The rabbit didn’t exactly have the best track-record when it came to making friends.

“Have you tried to call her?”

“ _ Multiple times _ . Omega said her Com-link is severed.”

Now that was either an accident, or someone was purposely keeping Clover away. Rather than hoping for the best, Shadow found himself assuming the worst. 

“Omega, answer immediately,” he called on his own communicator. 

“Omega here.”

“Did Clover’s Com have a signal you were tracking?”

Shadow admittedly found Omega’s ability to track his team off-putting at first. However this was exactly the type of situation which made him relent to allowing the robot to continue. It came in handy in case of an emergency. 

“Affirmative,” the robot chirped. 

“Send me the location of the last place she was before the link was severed.”

“Affirmative. Coordinates sent.”

“Are we gonna go get her?” Rouge asked hopefully. 

“No,  _ I’m _ going to go get her,” Shadow replied sternly. “ _ You _ stay here in case she comes back.”

Rouge hated waiting around. She’d hated it ever since she was small. That was why the bat always took action rather than ever letting herself be the damsel in distress. Right now however, she acknowledged the fact that Shadow was right. Someone needed to be here in case Clover  _ did  _ come home. 

“Y-yeah. Alright.”

The hedgehog placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders, giving her what he hoped was a comforting squeeze.

  
“ _ I’ll bring her back _ .”


	7. Hold on So Tight

Nothingness was all that surrounded the rabbit’s mind for the longest time. No dreams, no thoughts, only a strange sense of  _ drifting _ . Sensations flowed in and out like the ebbing of a morning tide. Her upper half was warm and her lower half felt more and more like ice with each passing moment. As she laid there in her stupor, she slowly came to realize that the surrounding darkness wasn’t the backs of her eyelids but rather the atmosphere of the cavern around her. 

A soft breeze rustled back and forth against her damp hair. The warmth nearly matched that of the heat that encircled her upper half. Up and down, she could feel the soft movements beneath her that matched almost perfectly with the colder feeling that worked its way up and down her waistline. 

It was then the realization struck her with the intensity of a bolt of lightning.  _ Jet _ ! With a gasp she found herself trying her best to sit up. The warmth was  _ Jet _ , and the icy sensation was water all around them. As she moved, his arms fell from around her into the shallow pool. Clover let out a soft curse or two as she felt up each of his limbs. As far as she could tell, nothing was broken. Considering she’d been laying on his ribs and she hadn’t heard him  _ wheezing _ , those were probably fine too. He was breathing… and apparently  _ making that little grumbling noise of his again _ . He was probably fine.  _ Somehow _ .

It was hard to tell just how far they’d fallen and what they might have rammed into on the way down. Her body ached, and she was sure that Jet was going to have at minimum a concussion after padding her landing. It was a miracle either of them were still alive. Standing was painful but manageable. The more Clover moved, the more she could feel all of the cuts, scrapes, and bruises she’d gained during the fall. Her left ankle hurt pretty damn badly, and as she moved it she realized she’d probably sprained it at the very least. 

Standing made it easier to locate Jet’s missing hoverboard. While it was incredibly dark, she could see the dim glowing trim on the sides of it higher up and lodged in part of the cavern wall.  _ That  _ was going to be a pain in the ass to get to. Careful not to hurt him, Clover looped her arms under the hawk’s own to try and drag him out of the water and towards the wall where his board was. The process was long and painful, but she felt better getting him out of the shallow pond. 

At this point, Clover had to sit to try and catch her breath. The rabbit stayed close to the Hawk at her side as she glanced back up to their only mode of transport. For a moment she considered attempting to scale the wall and get it, but if those  _ monsters  _ found them, there was no way she would be able to scramble away fast enough. Besides that, there was a chance that in trying to climb, she would fall and hurt herself worse. The last thing either of them needed was for Clover to break a limb. 

It was a shame she didn’t have access to her wings. With just a few flaps, the rabbit was sure she could get up to the board and dislodge it from it’s stony prison. Biting Jet wasn’t really an option. 

_ Then again _ …

Her delicate little lapin nose twitched as a familiar metallic tang finally reached her through the smell of damp earth and stale water.  _ Something  _ on him was already bleeding. Now Clover was left with a choice: she could wait for him to wake up and hope that he could help her get the board down,  _ or  _ she could sip at just a little bit of his blood while he slept and get it down herself.

There was no telling how much time the two of them actually had before the horrific creatures from before descended down upon them. In fact the more she could smell his blood, the more she worried that the beasts might be able to track them down from the scent alone. Coming from such a dark environment probably gave them an evolutionary advantage over the terrestrial Mobians.

Well, she had no choice--the two of them had very little time to spare. Once more the rabbit felt herself feeling around on his body. The wound was easy enough to find now that they weren’t sitting in water, what with the tell-tale lack of waterlogged feathers around it. Her hands slid down his still form, fingers gently inspecting whatever they could. Head, shoulders, arms, chest… 

She paused as she got to his waistline, drawing in a nervous little gulp. Oh no, it better not have been anywhere near--

Skipping down, she discovered that a gash on his outer thigh, just above his knee, was the culprit and heaved a sigh of relief. Clover never would have lived it down had it been on his _ inner thigh _ .

The rabbit dipped down, grasping at the plumage on either side of the wound before she began to drink. Jet’s breath hitched in pain and let out a noise of discomfort that made Clover hesitate. When all was silent, she continued. Though she was trying to listen for sounds of possible creatures around them, her biggest focus was on taking just enough to activate her wings, but not enough to damage Jet further. It was hard to stop when he honestly didn’t taste half bad and it had been hours since she’d last eaten anything. 

The hawk groaned as he began to come to. Being surrounded in darkness with an aching head and something feeling as though it was gnawing on his leg didn’t exactly put him in the most calm state of mind. Once he realized that there was in fact something with its mouth against an area that hurt, he let out a loud squawk and bolted upright. 

“Get it off!” he shrieked.

“ _ Shhh _ !”

Clover was up as quickly as she could be, slapping her hand over the bird’s beak to try and silence him. 

“It’s  _ me _ , you birdbrain,” she quietly hissed. “Shhhh.”

The rabbit tried to ease the other back down again, running a finger of her free hand from his beak up his forehead. The motion was slow and deliberately meant to calm him down from his panic. 

“ _ What were you doing to my leg _ ?” he mumbled beneath her palm. 

“I was licking your wound,” the rabbit whispered, trying her best to keep her voice low as she quickly tried to think of a cover-up for her actions. “We were taught to do that if we didn’t have bandages.”

“So it’s a rabbit thing?”

“Yeah.”

At this point, she removed her hand from on top of his beak. He seemed to have settled into a quiet enough voice, or as quiet as the hawk could be. At least she hoped it was. For now, the noises of whatever had been chasing them sounded so far away that she could barely hear them. 

“What’s this thing you’re doing with your finger?” Jet asked, interrupting her focus. 

“Another rabbit thing,” Clover replied. “We calm down when you stroke our foreheads.”

At least  _ that  _ wasn’t a lie. It just seemed to be something that was part of a rabbit’s hard-wiring. If someone stroked up a their forehead, they would have a very calm and floppy bun on their hands. 

“Huh… feels kinda nice,” the hawk muttered sleepily. 

“How are you holding up?”

“Oh, you know… My  _ everything  _ hurts, I’m trapped in a cave, lost, got chased by cave monsters, fell down a trench, I don't know where my friends are, I’m stuck with the one person that  _ can’t stand me _ , oh yeah and  _ I lost my board _ . So you know,  _ stellar freakin’ day _ ,” Jet grumbled. 

At that, Clover let out the tiniest chuckle. Her finger stopped its motions against his forehead as she pulled herself away.

“Well, I can at least fix two of those things for you,” the rabbit said as she tried to brush herself off. 

“Oh yeah? How?”

“Well first, I’m gonna get your board back.”

A soft pink glow lit their immediate vicinity as Clover’s wings faded into existence, and it took all of Jet’s remaining willpower to hold in a disgruntled squawk at the sudden appearance. He openly stared at her as she flew up to where his poor gear was stuck.

“D-don’t tell me this is another rabbit thing,” he gaped. 

“Yup.  _ Totally _ ,” she agreed. 

Well that was easy enough to explain away. Damn, she hoped their main mode of transportation wasn’t damaged in the fall. Wave’s own board had been broken so easily when she’d used it to beat the beast off of Storm. Then again, she’d hit it right in the thrusters. Maybe, just  _ maybe _ , they’d get lucky. Clover wheezed and strained as she tried to wriggle the hoverboard free. 

“What’s taking you so long?” Jet groaned. 

“It's  _ stuck _ .”

“Come on  _ Princess _ , use some muscle!”

With a grumble of her own, the rabbit spread her legs and braced her feet against the stone wall. Using all of her upper body, Clover gave another hard tug, yanking with her arms, pushing with her legs, and flapping hard to wrench the device free. Her action worked, though it sent her back down to land right back on top of the hawk, and he couldn’t contain a loud squawk as she crashed into him. 

The bird’s call echoed through the cavern, reaching far further than either of them could’ve realized at the time. Somewhere in the far distance, beyond the range of the rabbit’s typically keen hearing, came the faint scraping of talons against stone and gravel. 

“Oh fff-- _ I think you just ruptured my spleen _ ,” the bird groaned out. 

“Don’t be such a baby,” Clover groused as she rolled off of him. “ _ You’re _ the one that told me to pull that hard.”

“Yeah yeah. Bring your wings over here. I need the light.”

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to let Jet look over the machinery. He didn’t know anywhere near as much as Wave did about technology, but he  _ did  _ know how his board worked and  _ if  _ it would still work after the beating it took.

“Is it okay?” the rabbit asked.

“Yeah, looks like it’ll be fine,” Jet agreed as he turned his gaze up to Clover. “But tell me… If you’ve got  _ wings _ , then why do you want a hoverboard?”

Now that was something she couldn’t just lie away. Clover hesitated and shifted uncomfortably. If she explained her reasoning, she’d have to also explain the entirety of what had happened with Dr. Lazarus, wouldn’t she? 

Jet tapped his foot as he waited for his answer, however it wasn’t an answer he was going to get any time soon. 

As she’d done when their monster fiasco first began, the hawk saw one of the rabbit’s ears swivel to listen behind her. It was quickly followed by the other as a loud squeal echoed from above them. 

“Oh not  _ again _ !” Jet screeched out. 

His head hurt too damn much for this. The hawk jumped onto his hoverboard and grabbed Clover to yank her up with him. Positioned behind him again and feeling the board turn upward, the rabbit tried fluttering her wings as quickly as she could to try and help Jet with the lift. 

“Where are we headed?” she asked. 

“Out of the trench, and then  _ away  _ from these things!”

They could figure out where they were going and where the others were once they were out of harm’s way. For now Jet wanted to put some distance between himself and  _ them _ . Unfortunately for the two of them, getting away wasn’t going to be the easiest task. As they rose up and out of the trench, Jet became aware of how the ground beneath them shifted and seethed, heaving with unseen,  _ clearly hostile _ life. Whatever was left of the path they’d originally followed had become completely overrun with the beasts, but without a proper light source and with nowhere left to turn, they only had one choice left.

_ Keep moving forward _ .


	8. Hear Me Roar Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art done by LonelySadBlob on tumblr: https://lonelysadblob.tumblr.com/

“Wave, I have to close the door. _Please_ ,” Storm pleaded. “I can hear noises.”

“Not yet,” the swallow insisted. “We have to give them more time.”

Wave paced back and forth in front of the large set of stone doors the two had stumbled upon. They’d found their precious chamber, but at what cost? Had they lost two lives in the process? Had she just lost her leader and the bird who had given her a second chance at life? As much as she picked on him, the swallow considered Jet to be one of her absolute best friends in the world. The idea of living without Storm or their hawk leader by her side was just too much to bear. 

“Wave…”

“ _I don’t want to say goodbye yet_!”

The swallow’s outburst had Storm taken aback. Wave had always been the most level-headed of the three. Now that she was presented with the idea of losing someone who meant so much to her, she didn’t seem to know how to function. 

“I can’t…” she whimpered.

Never in his life had the albatross seen his friend look so small and fail. Wave’s strength came at full force when she was confident, but now she looked so broken and defeated. Storm reached to drape an arm over her shoulders to pull her closer. Wave’s forehead pressed against his belly, and for a moment he swore she was trembling. 

The larger bird was about to speak when a loud noise echoed through the tunnels. He knew that squawk! 

“ _JET!_ ” he shouted out, cupping his hands around his beak to try and make the cry louder. 

The reply was muffled, but the albatross was _sure_ he heard his name. Wave’s head popped up quickly as she heard it as well. Both birds knew that yelling would surely call the carnivorous creatures their way, but if they could lead the hawk towards them as well, then that was a chance they were more than willing to take.

“OVER HERE!” the swallow screamed with all her might.

“Turn left!” Clover instructed, outright turning Jet with her wings. 

While she couldn’t hear the tunnel system anywhere near as good in the air as she could on the ground, she could hear the direction of their voices calling out above the fray of the mass of monsters that surrounded them. 

“We’re gonna be cutting it pretty close,” Jet squawked. 

The creatures were so close to them that he knew one wrong move could send them careening down to their own doom. There was no way their bodies could take another fall, especially not at the speed they were going. 

“Jet, three o’clock!” the rabbit shouted.

Another beast threw itself off of the wall, hurtling towards the two of them as its wings unfurled. Much like last time, it was far too close for the hawk to be able to turn. In a reckless maneuver, Clover launched herself at it. The rabbit was determined to use some of the training Rouge had given her and kicked the monster as hard as she possibly could to throw it off of it’s attack-path. The blow landed and her idea worked well enough. What she hadn’t counted on was the fact that she was _using her injured leg_. 

The blow was enough to send a shock of pure agony straight up from her ankle, to her hip, and all the way up her spine. It hurt so badly that Clover lost her grip on Jet and nearly hit the ground before she was able to catch herself with a few clumsy flaps of her wings.

“Keep going!” she called. “I’ll catch up!”

Admittedly, she wasn’t sure she was _actually_ going to be able to catch up. With Jet safely out of the way, the hoard turned its sights on their injured prey and went at Clover with full-force. She kicked and flew with all her might, but moving forward just wasn’t an option anymore. All the rabbit could do was try her best to keep the monsters off of her. One of the beasts lunged, and in her attempt to move out of its way, the monster’s claws raked down the outside of her thigh. 

A loud cry of pain ripped itself from her throat as she hit the ground; her leg giving out completely. The sprain in combination with the broken skin was enough to put her left leg completely out of commission. Even as she managed to stand, all she could do was hop clumsily on her right side. The rabbit’s wings faded as her power fizzled out. Clover hadn’t gotten nearly enough blood from Jet, and her strength was all but used up. 

_But she wasn’t giving in without a fight._

If they were going to take her down, then damnit she was going to try and take a few of them down with her! The rabbit prepared herself as the creatures surrounded her, and as they lunged she was greeted with a flash of green and an impact that nearly knocked the wind out of her.

“You didn’t think I was about to leave you behind, did you?” came a familiar grating voice in her ear. 

Wind whipped through her fur as the hawk sped through the air as fast as his board could possibly go. Their escape was in sight and all he could do now was pray that they would actually make it. 

“Come on,” he muttered, “ _Come on_!”

The monsters were on their tails as the two made it through the door, and at the very last second Storm managed to slam the stone shut. The impact on the outside of it was enough to knock the large bird over, but he’d take it if it meant his friends were safe. 

Thankfully the beings outside didn’t seem to realize that pushing on the door wouldn’t make it open. They were hunters, not logical thinkers. 

“You think it’ll hold up?” Storm asked. 

“I hope so,” the swallow replied. “For _our_ sake.”

Jet stumbled off of his board, helping Clover sit down before flopping down beside her. The two of them needed a breather for sure. 

“Jet, I can’t believe you’re alive!” Wave cheered as she ran to their sides. 

“I dunno why you were so worried,” Jet tried to tease. “You know I always make it out alright.”

The swallow laughed and nodded, leaning to give the bottom of his boot a gentle kick. 

“Ow, hey!”

“Don’t cut it so close next time, yeah?” 

“Normally I wouldn’t mind a sappy reunion,” Clover grumbled as she looked up at the swallow. “But we might be running on a time-limit here. Is this the place you guys needed to find?”

As much as Wave hated to admit it, the rabbit was right. Despite the thick stone between the group and the creatures, she could hear them getting rowdier by the minute as they bemoaned not getting their dinner. 

“Yeah, this is it,” the swallow said. “The walls are covered with information that I’d need to take photos of. Then there’s a code I’ll need to break through to get what we need the most.”

Jet nodded and leaned his head back against the wall. He’d _kill_ for a nap right now. The hawk’s head was throbbing from their previous fall and as the adrenaline wore off he could feel every last bruise and muscle strain beginning to surface. From how he felt, he was sure he must’ve hit every possible obstacle on the way down. _Typical_.

“Do what you have to do. Then we can figure out how to get out of here.” 

“You got it, boss.”

Thankfully, Storm still had the flashlight Clover had given him at the start of their crazy adventure. As the swallow and albatross got to work, Jet turned his attention to the rabbit beside him. She was far more beat up than he’d realized. Mud was matted to parts of her fur, her clothes were ripped, and there was the giant set of gashes on her leg. He couldn’t help but give a little hum of amusement as he nudged his right leg against her left. The marks were almost identical, save for the fact that they were mirrored. 

“You thought mine was so cool you had to get one of your own, huh?” Jet teased. 

“Hm?”

Clover glanced down only to see what she assumed were going to be matching scars. The three long rips had been painful as heck. Now it was easy to see just why he’d lost control of his board as badly as he had. You know, besides the fact that the creature was incredibly heavy and had thrown off his balance. 

“Eh, you know,” Clover laughed as she waved it off. “It’s just _shared trauma_. No biggie.”

As the hawk laughed, the rabbit found herself looking over his body as well. The poor guy had gotten banged up just as badly as she had. Despite his feathers being in the way of his skin, she was pretty sure she could see a black eye forming; the bruise so dark that it showed _through_ his feathers. Dark chunks of mud stuck to him even worse than the bits caked onto her thinner fur, even up on the back of his head plumage. 

“Come here,” the rabbit said as she tried to turn Jet slightly. “You’ve got schmutz all over you.”

“That a technical term?” Jet laughed out. 

“ _Shut up_.”

Whatever he was about to say in reply left him completely as he felt the rabbit starting to work her fingers through the feathers on his head to work the mud away. The mere action sent a shiver straight down his spine. “Social grooming” was normal for Clover. The rabbit didn’t realize that something like this might actually be a * _difference in their culture_. Her acts felt incredibly intimate to the hawk, and he found his cheeks heating up far more than he would have liked. The more mud she pulled away, the more he found himself squirming. 

“Sorry, that hurt?” Clover asked. 

“Hurt… isn’t the word I’d use,” he grumbled. “Hey uh... When we get out of here, would you maybe wanna--”

“Got it!”

Wave’s voice made the two jump in place. A consol began to rise in the center of the room, and out of that consol came what looked to be a stone cube. 

“Why’s it always cubes?” Storm asked in intrigue, pulling the cube up from its platform. “The key to the Babylon Garden was a cube, this is a cube, they really loved cubes!”

“I’ll say,” the hawk muttered as he rolled his eyes. If anything, he was grateful that the cube’s removal hadn’t triggered any more boobytraps. 

Clover pulled herself up from the ground, wincing and having to use the wall as a support. She couldn’t put any weight on her injured leg. 

“Wave, you still have the map of this place?” the rabbit asked. 

“It was in your bag,” the swallow pointed out. “In the front po-- _Where’s your bag_?”

Clover flinched. 

“Probably back in the trench.”

“You guys are hopeless,” Wave sighed. “Lucky for you, I made a copy.”

Pulling the red charm from her necklace, she pressed a tiny button on the side that projected a hologram of said map for the group to look at. The rabbit had to squint to see the tiny passageways, but it still helped. 

“There’s an entrance I didn’t consider before,” Clover admitted. “I just assumed that the waterway coming out of the mountain would be too rough. After all, we didn’t know if it was a cave or just water shooting out of the side of the mountain. But look--”

She pointed to the hologram where the main room was, and then to where the waterfall was coming out. 

“There’s one place we already were that had water in it.”

“The trench!” Jet said, slamming his fist into his own hand. 

“Right,” Clover agreed with a nod. “It was shallow, but it’s probably connected. If we follow that, we might be able to shoot out on this side, which is closer to home anyway.”

And by closer to home, she simply meant that they wouldn’t have to go all the way around the mountain just to get back to the city again. 

“What if that doesn’t work?” Wave huffed. “What’s plan B?”

“Probably this tunnel over here,” Clover replied as she pointed to one not too far from the waterfall. “It’s closest to where civilization was, so we’ll have to be pretty careful. More access to others means more traps.”

“What about the monsters?” Storm asked as he side-eyed the door. He could still hear the creatures outside, moaning and shrieking as they clawed at the other-side of the stone. 

“Maybe we can wait for them to settle down,” Jet suggested. “If they realize they aren’t getting fed, they might go try to hunt elsewhere.” 

“Maybe…”

Clover trailed off as she lifted her ears. _Something didn’t sound right_. She tried to limp her way over to the door, only to have Jet pull one of her arms over his shoulders to help her. The rabbit pressed an ear to the stone to listen. They weren’t just scraping at the outside. 

“ _They’re burrowing_ ,” Clover gasped out. “Guys, they’re--!!”

The two stumbled backwards as a clawed arm broke its way through the door. _The creatures could burrow through stone_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Social Grooming is a habit that many mammals have. Any social group will tend to do it together, whether they be mates, family, or just pack-members. Think of it like a group of girls brushing each other’s hair and doing each other’s nails at a sleep-over. It is done to show affection and trust.  
> Birds on the other hand do something called Mutual Grooming. This act is done only with potential mates and is one of the many processes that initiates Pair-Bonding.


	9. Myself in Melody

The cacophony of shrieks and claws scraping and slamming through solid stone were too much for Clover to take. She pulled her own ears down and pressed down on them tightly. Hearing the creatures attacking before were one thing, but now they all seemed to be wailing out in unison. She felt herself begin to curl inward, her heartbeat threatening to drown out everything else around her… until a gloved hand grabbed at her forearm. Despite his own weakened state, Jet had somehow managed to locate his board and was intent on dragging the rabbit along with him.

“We’ve come this far. We’re not stopping now!”

Storm was already one step ahead of him, his heavy form balanced on his own board with Wave tucked under one of his large arms. 

“What’s the plan, boss?”

“Open the door and try to keep up,” Jet replied. “Whatever you do,  _ don’t let them jump on you. _ ”

One wrong move and they were done for. The hawk shifted Clover in his grasp, trying to be considerate of her injuries. Once this started, there was no stopping. It was either make it out, or die trying. The rabbit managed to give a nod, her ears flat against the back of her head.

_ And then hell broke loose. _

“Shared trauma, right?” Jet mused. “ _ What’s a little more? _ ”

Storm pushed on the remains of the heavy stone door, managing to knock some of the beasts away as they rushed out. Claws reached for them and it was all they could do to just barely keep away. The journey back to the trench was a blur; all they could register was darkness and snatches of pallid flesh and gruesome talons and tattered wings.

Jet’s head was killing him and staying focused was becoming more difficult with each passing moment. Apparently he’d hit it far harder than he’d thought during their fall. That wasn’t something he could worry about right now, however because getting out was their first priority. Recovery could be his main focus when they were all safely back on the Babylon Rogue air ship. 

In fact, the idea of being back outside with all of his friends safely in tow was the only thing getting him through the situation at hand. Sitting together, sharing laughs, eating good food, and maybe even sleeping for a week straight were all happy images that pushed him further and harder than ever before. Not even the cube in Wave’s hands mattered as much as their lives. Answers meant  _ nothing  _ if he lost his friends in the process.

Finally they found themselves descending down into the trench. The more they saw, the more Clover was shocked they’d survived with as minimal injuries as they had. Sharp, jagged rocks protruded out from the walls, and the rock just beside the shallow water looked as though they really should have died immediately upon impact. Whether it was a stroke of luck or something had slowed down their fall, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was she was incredibly grateful to still be alive. 

The team followed the water with the hoard trailing close behind. Upon closer inspection, it looked as though the beasts were actively avoiding the subterranean river, instead opting to scramble along the walls of the cavern despite many of them being capable of flight. One of the bolder monsters latched onto a stalactite only for the structure to crumble, sending it plunging into the inky depths. It struggled for a moment, limbs flailing in vain to hold its head above the surface before succumbing to its fate. The rest of the pack howled as their fellow’s limp body floated downstream.

_ They couldn’t swim. _

“Where do we go from here?” Wave shouted over the shrieks. 

“We’re gonna have to swim for it,” Clover called back. “Are your boards okay in water? We can use them to push us through the current faster.”

Hopefully the path wasn’t longer than she assumed it to be. It was little wonder that their map had become nearly useless--the creatures had turned the entire structure into a hive, carving new tunnels and turning what was originally a minor maze into an overwhelming labyrinth. The waterway itself, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be something they’d touched. If they could just hold their breath long enough, they had a shot of making it out alive. 

_ If _ being the key word.

“They should be okay for a short distance,” the swallow agreed. “So long as we can get in and out quickly, they won't be damaged.”

“Enough chatter,” Jet commanded as he pulled his cracked goggles on over his eyes. “Let’s get this thing over with.”

Just as they started to skim the surface, he pushed down on Clover’s shoulders, guiding her to lay flat on the board before following suit himself, his body acting like a shield over her. The less drag they had, the better. With an exaggerated breath, he angled them down, ducking forward as they plunged under. Storm was quick to do the same with Wave, and once the group was under, the roughest part of their journey began. The flashlight showed off their only exit before it flickered out completely from water damage. 

A large splash behind them pushed them forward and straight into the current before they could prepare themselves, and it was all they could do to cling to their boards and hope they were going the right way. The relentless surge beat them against submerged boulders and craggy outcroppings, further disorienting the frantic group as they struggled ahead.

Wave’s glasses were torn from her head early on, and Jet could feel the glass of his goggles cracking to the point of threatening to burst open. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced his body as a tiny sliver of light finally showed itself ahead of them. Just then, something crashed into them from behind, propelling them forward far faster than the hawk was prepared for. He attempted to turn his head to see, but quickly realized that the action would likely outright snap his neck. It was probably just Storm, he figured. The albatross had always been on the clumsy side, and given the circumstances, the hawk had little doubt that he’d somehow lost control in the current.  _ Poor Wave _ .

Suddenly they found themselves airborne again, boards launching them into the open night sky as they reached the drop of the waterfall. Jet sputtered and gasped as he tried to take control of his gear once more to fly them to safety, waterlogged gloves trying to maintain his grip on the slick surface. He’d just straightened out when Storm sideswiped him, sending both boards and their occupants tumbling into the grassy shore of a lake. 

As much as everything hurt, they’d made it! There was grass, there were trees, and the moon was high in the sky greeting them with all of her shimmering stars around her. 

“Is everyone still alive?” Jet cawed out. 

“ _ Unfortunately _ ,” Wave groaned. 

Clover could only give a laugh as she reached to swat Jet’s chest with the back of her hand. 

“Guys, can we skip out on caves for a while?” Storm groaned.

Jet let out his own snort of laughter, about to reply when something else in the water caught his attention. Something  _ big _ . Before he could manage to stand to scramble away from the water’s edge, one of the monsters burst forward from the surface. It was clearly disoriented, but the moment it locked its beady eyes on the Mobians, it launched forward, claws out--

“ _ CHAOS SPEAR! _ ”

In the second it took Jet and Clover to squeeze their eyes shut, someone swooped in at the last second to save them. The monster fell lifelessly onto the grass beside them and as they looked up to see who their savior was, there stood  _ Shadow the Hedgehog _ on top of the beast. 


	10. A Bird Set Free

“ _ Shadow _ !”

Clover’s joy at seeing Shadow was quickly cut short when a sudden realization hit her with the intensity of a falling pile of bricks.

“ _ What day is it? _ ”

“ _ Well _ ,” the grumpy hedgehog started as he slid down the creature’s back onto the ground. “It  _ was  _ Friday about ten minutes ago. Currently, it is Saturday.”

Oh boy,  _ she’d missed their date _ .

The passage of time meant nothing when stuck in that horrid cavern. Clover had no idea just how long they’d been stuck in there.

“Oh crap, Shadow I am so,  _ so-- _ ”

He held up a hand to silence her, kneeling beside her to look over her injuries. What bothered him most was the battle wound on her leg that seemed to match the unamused looking hawk beside her. 

“Who the heck are  _ you  _ supposed to be?” Jet grumbled as he folded his arms. 

His answer was a glare rather than words. If anything, it was obvious that the leader of the Babylon Rogues was the one being blamed for Clover’s body being so badly banged up. 

“I’m fine, Shadow, really,” Clover insisted, trying to wave it off. “I mean, I can’t use my leg right now, but it’s not like it’s  _ broken… I think _ .”

After the intense kick she’d given their attacker, she wasn’t quite so sure that it wasn’t at the very least fractured. Who really knew? The wobbly rabbit did her best to stand, and ultimately failed. Shadow was quick to catch her as she fell forward, once more looking over her as if expecting fresh wounds to appear out of nowhere. 

“You have to be more careful, Clover,” he scolded. “You need to tell us _where you’re_ _going_ next time. Had Omega not been able to track your communicator, I wouldn’t have found you in time.”

“Dude, she was  _ fine _ !” Jet protested as he pulled himself up. “She was with  _ us _ . Clover was totally safe.”

“Does  _ THAT  _ look ‘totally safe’ to you?” the hedgehog scoffed as he pointed to the fallen beast on the ground near them. 

“We would have figured it out!”

The aggravated grumbles Clover had finally become accustomed to bubbled out of the hawk’s throat as he nearly headbutt the hedgehog in a show of dominance. Not one to give in to what was clearly a challenge, Shadow followed suit, pressing his forehead to the bird’s and narrowing his eyes.

“ _ Boys _ !” Clover squeezed her way between them as best as she could and shoved them apart. “Can we  _ not _ ? I’m not in the mood for any more fighting today.”

“Calm your feathers, Jet,” Wave insisted. “We got what we came for. We should get it back to the airship and get some rest.”

“Your friend’s right, you know,” Shadow agreed. “And I should get  _ you  _ back home. Rouge must be out of her mind by now.”

As he spoke, he pulled the rabbit up into his arms, apparently dead-set on carrying her. Not that she minded all that much. The rabbit looked up at him with stars in her eyes as she nuzzled her nose into his cheek. Shadow couldn’t help but shoot Jet a smug look of triumph. 

The hawk let out another round of agitated grumbling at the display. Shadow had won this round, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be back. 

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go,” he muttered.

“H-hey wait! What about my board!” Clover suddenly protested.

The Rogues were already up in the air, Jet shooting her a salute and a wink. 

“We’ll mail it to ya.”

“ _ You don’t have my address! _ ”

Too late. They were already on their way. Despite being in Shadow’s arms, the rabbit gave a wiggle of frustration. Had she really just done all of this for  _ nothing _ ?!

“Wait, is  _ that  _ what this was all about?” Shadow asked in surprise. “You were trying to get a  _ hoverboard _ ?”

The pouting rabbit folded her arms and gave a small nod. 

“Why didn’t you just ask Tails to make you one?”

The sudden look in her eyes betrayed the biggest factor in all of this:  _ She hadn’t thought of that _ . 

“I uh… figured I had to  _ earn  _ it,” the rabbit admitted. “Plus I don’t talk to Tails all that much. I didn’t want to just come out of nowhere and be like: Hey! Long time no see!  _ Make me a thing _ .”

Clover paused to try and brush her wet hair out of her face, shivering and gagging when she realized there was a chunk of nasty looking moss stuck in it. In a fit of disgust, she raked her fingers through and tossed as far away from her as she could get it.

“I just wanted to be able to keep up with you guys,” she sighed out. 

“ _ Clover _ ,” Shadow started with a chuckle. “You don’t have to do everything all at once, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

\---

As predicted, Rouge had in fact _ gone batty _ . The instant Shadow walked through the door, the rabbit was yanked out of his arms. Rouge swapped back and forth between scolding Clover for leaving so suddenly and fawning over her now that she was back as though she was a worried mother welcoming her child back under her wings. 

Clover was fed far too much food before the bat helped her shower and ushered her right into bed. The entire event was amusing if not a little sad for the hedgehog to watch. The last thing he wanted was for the rabbit to be babied and assume that she wasn’t allowed to go out on her own again. Rouge’s worry had gotten the better of her, not stopping until her friend was out cold and snoring softly in her room. 

“We need to make sure she’s got a better communicator next time.”

“Rouge.”

“And some kind of weapon. She had nothing and she just--”

“Rouge.”

“--went out there totally unprepared with chaos knows who and she--”

“ _ Rouge _ .”

“-- _ What, Shadow?! _ ”

The hedgehog took a step back, holding up both of his hands to try and get her to back down. Guilt flooded her eyes as she realized why he’d been trying to stop her. The look he was giving her was enough.

“Y-yeah, you’re right. I’m going overboard,” Rouge admitted. “I’ve never been responsible for training someone or taking care of them before. I guess I’m just…”

As she trailed off, Shadow offered her a smile. 

“ _ It’s okay _ . She’ll get there. You just keep doing what you’re doing.”

There was a long pause before that smile became a frown. 

“We  _ do  _ need to get her a better communicator though,” the dark hedgehog admitted.

Rouge laughed. 

“ _ It’s good to know you were just as worried as I was. _ ”


	11. Epilogue

Channels flickered across the TV as the rabbit looked for something to watch. She was confined to the couch and not allowed to move until her leg healed. At first, it was a nice vacation from all of the craziness that had gone down, but  _ now…  _ Being stuck in the same spot for a  _ week  _ made her feel like she was going mad. 

The black brace on her ankle might as well have been a ball and chain, while Rouge was acting very much as her parole officer. The bat was sure to do all of the grocery shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, and overall everything around the house while Clover was expected to sit there and do nothing until she was given the O.K. To think that she had one more week of this at minimum!

A tapping on the glass door beside her made one of Clover’s ears swivel over to listen. Shouldn’t someone be knocking on the  _ front  _ door? Curiosity for the better of her, and as Clover turned to see what the noise was she was greeted with the sight of Jet standing on the balcony. He grinned and wiggled his fingers at her in a little wave. The rabbit let out a loud noise as she leaned on the arm of the couch, then leaned  _ too  _ far and fell directly on her face. 

The hawk squawked as he watched her face-plant, panicking from his side of the glass until she sat up and scrambled over to the door to wrench it open. 

“Jet!”

“Hey the--ACK!”

He’d expected a happy greeting, but nothing like  _ being pinned to the ground _ from the excitable rabbit  _ throwing _ herself at him. Up above them, Wave gave a noise of disdain as she watched Clover nuzzle her nose against the flustered hawk’s cheek. 

“Get a room, you two,” she muttered. 

“Clover! What was that? Are the pigeons back?” Rouge called. 

The bat made quick work of rushing out onto the balcony, spray bottle in hand to defend her friend from the wild sky-rats. What she was greeted with instead was the Rogues, one beneath Clover and two in the air. As her gaze locked with Wave’s, there was an obvious shift in tension between the two. 

“ _ You _ ,” Rouge growled. 

“Long time no see,  _ Rouge _ ,” the swallow huffed.

“ _ Not long enough _ ,” Rouge replied, squeezing the spray bottle’s trigger…  _ right into Jet’s eye _ .

“Ow,  _ hey _ !”

The bat reached down to pry her friend off of the captive bird on the ground, allowing Clover to sit rather than laying on him. 

“What do you want?” Rouge asked, still threatening Jet with the bottle. 

“ _ Calm down _ , would ya?” the hawk cawed. “We just came to uphold our part of the bargain.”

“You mean--?!”

The rabbit’s eyes were full of stars as she bounced in place. Had they really remembered?

“Sorry it took me a while,” Wave agreed with a nod. “Had to rebuild my own gear first after our little mishap.” 

Storm set himself down on the balcony, all too happy to kneel down in front of Clover. 

“Here, Princess,” he started, still not having let go of Jet’s nickname for the rabbit. “I bestow upon you, your very own Extreme Gear. May it be ever in your favor.”

He pulled the hoverboard from behind his back and offered it up to her. While his actions earned groans and eye-rolls from his teammates, Clover was absolutely ecstatic. The board itself was a light bubblegum pink that matched her hair, a rounded front with a skull, and back tail-lights that almost resembled bunny ears. The bottom of the front had a bumper for safety, and on the side little gems spelled out the word:  _ Princess _ . 

“Sorry about the stupid gems,” Jet groaned. “Storm bedazzled it before we could stop him.”

“Are you kidding?” Clover almost shrieked. “I  _ love  _ it!”

She stood with help from Rouge and pulled the board into her hands to look over. Every detail of it, even the bedazzled jewels, just felt so special and intricately put together. To think, it was really  _ hers _ . 

“You really like it?” Storm asked hopefully.

“I do!” the rabbit agreed. “In fact, stay kneeling.”

If Storm thought she was a princess, then screw it. Clover was now a princess, and she was going to do something she hoped would make the giant bird’s day. Having nothing else to use, she took her new gear and gently touched it to each of Storm’s shoulders.

“I, Princess Clover, knight thee: Sir Storm the Knight of Babylon.”

Storm gave a loud gasp as he stared up at her. 

“Me? A  _ knight _ ? Really?!”

“Really,” Clover replied, ignoring Rouge face-palming behind her. “You may rise.”

The albatross stood, looking at his friends with the happiest expression either of them had ever seen on him. 

“Guys, you hear that? I’m a knight! A  _ knight _ !”

“Clover,  _ what have you done _ ?” Wave grumbled. “He’s never gonna stop now.”

“Eh, let him have his fun,” the rabbit replied with a grin. “He deserves it.”

After everything he’d done in the cave to keep her safe, the swallow supposed she should agree. Storm had put her safety above everything else when push came to shove and she was more grateful than she could put into words. 

Clover glanced over her shoulder to Rouge, still holding her board as though it were the most precious thing in the world to her.

“So uh… I suppose flying lessons are out of the question, huh?”

“Not till you get that brace off,” Rouge scolded.

“ _ Fiiiiine _ . So then,  _ Mom _ , can my friends come in and watch a movie with me?”

Despite her better judgement, Rouge reached to flick her friend’s forehead as payback for the nickname.

“I suppose I’ll allow it,” she sighed out. 

As much as she didn’t want  _ Wave  _ of all Mobians in the house, it was probably worth it to make sure Clover was a little less bored during her healing process. 

“Mom?” Storm asked, looking to the bat with admiration. “You must be the  _ queen _ !”

“ _ Oh no _ ,” Wave moaned.

Rouge giggled as the albatross presented her with a low bow.

“Well now, don’t  _ you  _ know how to treat a lady~?”


End file.
